Some Remnants of the Past

I've always wanted an old gypsy cart, like this one that sat just inside the entry gate.

Dear Friends,

Thanks for your sweet words of encouragement! I love hearing from you and hearing about your families, your gardens, your cooking, and your adventures, too.

Last Saturday, I got to meet a few of you in person at the wonderful children's bookstore called Curious Cup in Carpinteria, California. Thanks for coming and for supporting Kiona's great community resource–a small, well-considered, independent bookstore.

The Green Vase is a small antique shop located in Arroyo Grande, California, which is near our home. The owner, Connie Cetti, has great style and flair.

The Green Vase featured this charming kitchen stool (I love it)

On Sunday, I got to spend a little time at the great vintage show Remnants of the Past created and managed by Judy Watkins. In years past, the show was held in the old barn at the Dana-Power's Adobe, a land grant homestead in the same family for over a hundred years.

You couldn't beat the ambiance of the old barn, but with their move to a bigger venue in the small city of San Luis Obispo, Judy and her team have done a great job.

After being featured in Country Living magazine, the show at the barn exploded and imploded–there was no way the small country roads and limited access could accommodate all the folks who wanted to attend. So Judy moved to the Alex Madonna Expo Center (yes, as in Madonna Inn) just a couple of miles from our home. Lucky us.

I think this is an old washtub, which has been fitted with a fountain bubbler. Funkalicious!

The Girlshop had lots of unusual things, such as...

Bouquets of cattails with nests woven into them.

Another booth featured old garden tools, beach toys, and an array of frogs (flower holders). Don't overlook the sculptural qualities of these things. My girlfriend Jane Hogue has a smashing display of flower frogs mounted on a wall in her home.

Shopping the booths.

Somebody has decorating courage, aka guts! These are a statement, but I don't know what the statement is, perhaps Fourth of July? Anyhow, they were cute.

I find it amazing how much blood, sweat, and tears the hard working dealers put into designing their booths.

I thought this was a pretty neat idea. The dealer used an old window to "frame" some botanical prints. Why not press some ferns and leaves, mount them on heavy rag paper, and do your own version?

Serendipity's booth featured some repurposed sinks filled with sculptural succulents. Serendipity is a great (and huge), idea-filled shop in Arroyo Grande.

Sometimes you had to peek behind things. This is a great, painted planter from Judy Sorenson of Sorenson Farms Antiques in Arroyo Grande. 

The big, well-designed outdoor booth-tent of Atelier de Campagne enticed everyone inside.

I am a sucker for those simple, ribbed tubs. They make such great display pieces.

Some views of Over the Ocean Antiques

Love these gorgeous French baskets

Over the Ocean's colorful accents and furniture would be a great addition to a beachy house.

Uh oh. How did I forget to write down the name of this dealer? I LOVE the Thornton's Ferry Social Club sign and could envision it in our Maine cottage.

And Judy arranged for some "celeb" appearances. We welcomed the creative Matthew Mead and Jo Packham of Where Women Cook, Where Women Create, etc. and shoot, I MISSED HER! She has been an inspiration to our creativity for decades. Come back Jo!

Matthew Mead

Ok friends, so now it is back to my manuscript, which I hope to finish in the next week or so. In many ways, it is tough to let go of the fictional world you create. The characters in my book have become like family to me and to my critique groups, The Cambria Writers Workshop and Kiddie Writers. Soon I will bid fartheewell to my young heroines and hello to a new chapter in my life.

Sending love across the miles,

Sharon

Needle*Thread* Quilt* Bliss

This quilt, which combines the traditional lone star pattern with applique borders and surrounding appliqued design, greeted us in the entry hall of my girlfriend's home. I think (judging by the fabrics) that it may be from the third quarter of the 19th century. Let me know what you think.

Dear friends,

Twice a year six lifelong girlfriends gather for a long weekend. And I mean long. We talk, eat, explore, stay up too late, laugh, cry, gripe, create new memories, and remember back to when we were kids in grammar school, middle school, high school, and beyond. These women know my worst faults and foibles, yet they still love me as I do them.

This spring's meeting was in San Diego at the home of a friend who is a quilter. One of our major outings planned was to the Visions Art Museum, which is a non-profit, international organization "dedicated to the promotion and appreciation of the quilt as fine art." It fulfills its promise beautifully. I hope that you will take time to visit this magnificent little gem of a museum the next time you are in the San Diego area.

The museum presents four major exhibitions a year. We were fortunate to see "Art Meets Science-A traveling exhibition from Studio Art Quilt Associates." My girlfriends and I spent time studying the quilts closely (they provide you with white cotton gloves so you can turn the quilts over and examine them). We were all so inspired by the creativity and craftsmanship evident in each quilt. I only wish I could share all of them, but at least here you can see some of my favorites, which I was allowed to photograph (without a flash) so that I could share them with all of you.

FYI, the museum has an impressive schedule of workshops, lectures, and other activities at its location in the fun NTC (the old Naval Training Center) Promenade in Point Loma, the arts and culture district of Liberty Station in San Diego, California. Surrounding this small museum are many others, also shopping and great restaurants. We feasted at Tender Greens and sat outdoors on the patio.

Entry hall, gift shop to left (they have an impressive collection of quilting books), gallery to the right. 

Girlfriends Kim and Kathie study the quilts. You can see how small they are (the quilts, not necessarily Kim and Kathie)

A Space Odyssey

 by

 Sally Wright

2009

Global Warming 1: Greenfields

by 

Lili Christensen

Cells Dreaming

by

R. Kwong

Nature's Fractal

by 

Frankie Kohler

Southern Hospitality

by

Nancy Cook

Virus H5N1

by

Anita Welty

Glial Neuron Conversations

by

Susan Jackan

Beyond Imagination

by 

Cecile Trentini

I have to comment that if you could see the tiny stitches and detail in the black, well, you'd be humbled by the talent and skill.

Beautiful Worms (of course I LOVE the subject)

by

Aileyn Renli Ecob

Wood Cells 

by

Deborah Weir

Primordial Soup

by

Carol Churchill

Close-up of detail work

In the Beginning

by

Rebecca Kemble

High Water

by

Suzanne Mouton Riggio

Lipid Cells

by

Virginia Abrams

Lepidoptera

by

Susan Brubaker Knapp

Blue Boobs are Best

by

Sara Kelly

What's this all about? Blue boobs? Huh? This is a copy of a mammogram and the blue signifies healthy, non-cancerous breasts. Hurrah!

We all picked our favorites and Kim chose

Archeology Fragments 

by

Kevan Lunney

The Sierpinski Triangle Interpreted

by

Rebecca Kemble

Look at some of the delicious fabrics and the use of beads

I came home feeling refreshed, excited, and enthusiastic about a list of projects I want to tackle now that I'm finished with my book (this one at least). Trips like this are a necessity. Soul food. Sometimes girls just need to be girls, and that's what we were (and are). We had a ball.

Sending love across the miles,

Sharon

P.S. The winner of the Gardener's Supply bird feeder is: Priscilla Palmer. Priscilla, please e-mail me your shipping address.

P.P.S. As a quilt inspired give-away, I will draw a name for this wonderful, easy-to-care-for cow, complete with quilted udders. She is fashioned from a late 19th century quilt that was in tatters and beyond saving. Leave a comment to be eligible for the drawing of this sweet quilted cow.